Ideas for Using Augmented Reality in Your Lessons

If there’s anything that will make a student sit up and pay attention its using learning technologies like VR or augmented reality (AR). After all, isn’t it simply magic to have a life-size dinosaur appear right in front of you? That’s what this technology can do.

AR is defined as a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world. The technology has exciting applications in education.

AR can turn an ordinary lesson into a captivating experience. Overlaying extra data about a topic or adding virtual 3D models can give students a deeper understanding of the topic under discussion.

Where a picture is worth a thousand words, a 3D projected object is worth a thousand pictures. With AR technology things that are hard to picture can be rendered into 3D models, making them easier to understand.

With AR technology and mobile devices that support AR applications, 3D objects can be brought into the classroom. Students can walk around the objects and explore them. These objects can be anything from the internal organs of the human body to weather patterns like tornadoes.

In medical training, AR is being used to create human body models to help medical students learn anatomy in depth. Human Anatomy Atlas is an app that helps students to see inside and better understand the human body.

The app generates 3D models of different body parts that students then can explore further. Human Anatomy Atlas offers more than 10,000 anatomical models. Students can test their learning by doing the app quizzes.

Another great application of AR and VR in education is Google Expeditions. Google Expeditions covers various subjects and offers more than 100 AR Expeditions through the circulatory system, history of technology, and the moon landing.

The Google Expeditions app uses both AR and VR (virtual reality) to enhance the learning experience for learners. Google Expeditions offer more than 100 AR Expeditions that cover the circulatory system, history of technology, and the moon landing.

VR is a more immersive experience. VR lets you explore a virtual world. For instance, instead of walking around a 3D projection of a tornado, you find yourself right inside a virtual tornado. With VR you can literally experience something you have never or might never otherwise experience.

Elements 4D, made by DAQRI is an AR app that makes it easy and fun to learn chemistry. First, users need to make paper or wood cubes using special element blocks. The blocks are inscribed with the 36 elements of the periodic table. Paired with the blocks, the app transforms the blocks into dynamic, 4D dimensional, representations of each element. The fun starts when users combine two elements together and see how they react, the resulting compound and chemical equation.

Ever wondered how you can tear kids away from their smartphones and get them moving? Canadian tech company CASE has developed great AR for this purpose. In one application, the company’s AR transforms a gym wall for a ball game by projecting floating objects on the wall. Kids throw balls aiming at the floating shapes which explode when they are hit by the students. Augmented reality can give children a fun and totally engaging experience.

AR is extremely useful in the classroom. The technology can enhance a teacher’s explanation of a subject by providing a visual representation of the material, making the subject so much more real for students. With resources like smart phone sand Google Cardboard, AR and VR does have to be a costly exercise if you know where to look and can really help supercharge a lesson!

Sources:
https://edu.google.com/products/vr-ar/expeditions/?modal_active=none
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/human-anatomy-atlas-2019/id1117998129?mt=8
https://thinkmobiles.com/blog/augmented-reality-education/
https://vr.google.com/cardboard/
https://download.cnet.com/Elements-4D-by-DAQRI/3000-20414_4-77418287.html